Disappointment, complaints and my Italian adventure....

I am sorry I have not been able to post anything for a few weeks now.

I was planning to write about a hotel I stayed at recently in The Cotswold's. Andy and I went there for a spa weekend (to escape London).

However the experience was not what I had hoped and due to bad service and lack of customer care we both left feeling disappointed.

I complained to the hotel (to remain anonymous for now) and they dealt with it immediately. They apologised AND offered us a complimentary stay!

Everywhere deserves a second chance so I will be posting all about my stay once we have returned.

I am all for complaining. If you are left feeling unhappy and disappointed with an experience you have paid for then speak up!

Another let down - I  wanted to continue my search for 'The Best Sunday Roast' so I went to a pub, with some friends, that everyone had been talking about.
It had great reviews and the roasts were meant to be huge! As you can imagine I was very excited :)

When we arrived we sat down and ordered a few pints - standard Sunday tradition, the only day I allow myself to sink pints.

After we had looked at the menus and decided what we wanted the waiter came over and told us they had run out of the beef!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was what we all wanted! I mean it's the king of the roasts!

I couldn't possibly write about this place now with no beef roasts! That would be like writing about a candy shop with no sweets!

To be fair it was 3pm so I guess we should have gone earlier but we always eat lunch on Sunday around this time and no where else had run out before.

I ended up going for the chicken, it was good and the portions was huge, but it wasn't beef : (

I will be going back soon to get my beef!! TBC

So, you see it has been tricky to post about anywhere exciting recently.

HOWEVER................... I am off to Italy this week whooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be visiting Florence, Tuscany, La Spezia and then finishing up in Ivrea.

Ahhhhh pasta, wine, ice cream, coffee, more wine - I am coming for you :)

I will be taking lots of photos and documenting all my adventures.

I cannot WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday goooooooodtimes at 'The Crown Tavern' on Clerkenwell Green

It was my friends birthday on Sunday and we arranged a big get-together with friends and family to celebrate!
As the weather was going to be nice and warm we wanted to find a place where we could all eat outside.
My friend Laura was also bringing her tiny two month old baby so the venue had to be baby friendly and not too busy.......hmmmm this is hard to find in London on a warm day!

I remembered a pub me and Andy had been to in the winter that did AMAZING roasts and they had an outside seating area too, it's located on Clerkenwell Green and is a bit of a hidden gem.

It's a really gorgeous, old gastro pub in a lovely part of London, right by an old church and surrounded by trees and traditional London phone boxes.....the perfect place to unwind, relax and enjoy the sun.

We managed to put a few tables together outside which was perfect!

We started off with a couple of meat boards:
Meat board - Trealy Farm meats, cured beef, scotched quails eggs, olives, bread & oil

And a few plates of squid:
Salt & pepper squid with lime mayonnaise

The squid was sooooo delicious, most of it vanished within minuets! The meat board was very generous and really tasty, we all just shared the plates around and snacked for a while.
We ordered several bottles of Prosecco too.......of course ;)

For main courses most of us ordered beef roasts, yummmmmm.
21 day aged, West Country beef all served with homemade Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables & red wine gravy

Other main courses:

Mains

Chicken Caesar salad with croutons, anchovies & house Caesar dressing £9.75

Cider & tarragon battered cod & skin-on chips with crushed peas & tartare £11.00

Handmade British cheese burger & fries add bacon £1.25 / BBQ pulled pork £2.50 £10.25

Wild salmon fish cakes, lemon creme fraiche, potato wedges, celeriac & apple slaw £10.50

Gnocchi with wild mushrooms, roasted squash, spinach & cannellini beans £11.00

Southern fried chicken with fries, apple slaw & a house pickle dip £14.00

8oz 21 day aged rib-eye steak with fries, baked tomato & watercress £17.50

~ add peppercorn / Bearnaise sauce £2

A great selection.

I remembered the roasts being really good and as I had recommended the pub I was hoping they wouldn't let me down!!

The roasts arrived.......

Everyone was was really pleased!! My beef was succulent and tender and the red wine gravy was rich and full of flavour. The carrots were sweet, juicy and perfectly cooked.....I did miss my favourite creamed leeks but you can't have it all! There was a side order available of this but after all that squid I don't think I

could have managed much more!

It was such a lovely day!! The surrounds are so peaceful you forget you're in hectic London!

My friend Laura and her baby Jude, awwww so cute.

The inside of the pub is absolutely beautiful and full of charm.

It's hard to find a place like this where you can spend the whole day in such a quiet and pretty environment. Usually most beer gardens or al fresco dining areas are packed on a hot day, with different groups of friends all boozing and being loud. Jeez I sound like an old lady but sometimes you just want to chill out somewhere calm and spacious.

On the next hot day we have here in London you will find me back at 'The Crown Tavern' drinking Prosecco and taking advantage of the fantastic menu....I will definitely be ordering more of that squid!!

Friends, family, booze and good food. Fab day :)

 http://www.thecrowntavernec1.co.uk/

Hair of the dog and a DELICIOUS Sunday roast!

It's hard to find a decent roast these days.

I am VERY fussy when it comes to my roasts!

As it's a special, weekly tradition I look forward to it every Sunday...especially when i'm lying in bed hungover from the night before!

The only thing that gets me up is the thought of a few pints and a big fat ROAST!! YUM.

Our neighbours had been telling me and Andy about a pub called 'The Talbot' which is in Dalston (a 5 min walk from our house) and raving about the roasts, so the four of us all headed out together for lunch.

The pub is located amongst lots of pretty streets lined with classical London town houses. It was a  lovely walk and the sun was out too which always lifts your spirits when you're hung over!

When we got inside we were warmly welcomed and shown to our table straight away.

The waiter told us the specials of the day...even though we were all clearly going for the beef roast :)

We ordered four pints and four beef roasts. DONE :)

Hair of the dog ;)

Like I said before I am very fussy when it comes to my roasts. I diet, well I TRY to, on week days and at the weekends I eat what ever I like, so it's very disappointing when a roast does not deliver as that is the only time I can seriously pig out :)

My 'must haves' for the perfect roast -

1. I like my beef cooked med rare, pink and tender.

2. Don't be stingy with the meat! Some pubs give you the most pathetic amount of meat and then loads of potatoes, NO. There should always be a decent portion of meat...that's the best bit!

3. A good selection of vegetables - honey roast parsnips, carrots, broccoli and .....CREAMED LEEKS!
I think creamed leeks are possibly the most delicious thing ever invented.

4. Gravy - it must be in a jug. Everyone likes different amounts of gravy so you should be able to pour on as much as you like. I like my gravy thick with all the natural juices of the meat.When I make it at home I always add red wine to give an extra kick.

5. A BIG yorkshire pud, not too hard, it must be soft enough to soak up the gravy.

6. Roast potatoes - crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside.

And that is my perfect roast!

Our lunch arrived......dun dun daaaaaa

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssss BEAUTIFUL!!!

Another round of pints please!

 Lets get stuck in :)

Happy times.

I was really impressed with the roast, it ticked all my boxes and the service was brilliant. The pub had a cosy vibe with friendly cliental.

There was a roof terrace and an outside beer garden too so I will definitely be going back when summer hits!

So far this is one of the best roasts i've had and it's a really gorgeous pub. However it was £15.50 which I think is quite pricey.

I personally feel around £13 is a fair price for a roast but I am happy to pay more if it's worth it.

Make sure you book ahead as it gets super busy!

109 Mortimer Rd, London, Greater London N1 4JY

020 7241 2995 () ‎

I will be going to another pub next Sunday to see what they have in store ;)